By Gene Roe.
Say what you want about the effectiveness of the UN, but I don’t think you can dispute that it has a global perspective, which in the case of energy policy is essential. In a recent op-ed in the NY Times entitled, Powering Sustainable Energy for All, Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General opened my eyes to the incredible opportunity we have to stimulate the world economy, while transforming it to a much more sustainable energy mix. (Is it me, or has Ban Ki-moon generally been keeping a low profile?)
I look at my personal situation. In addition to me, two of my 3 children are working in the sustainability economy. You don’t have to work for an oil company or GE to be part of this economy. A good friend in the 3D laser scanning business just had his firm acquired to support the rapidly growing market for water treatment plants to support horizontal drilling operations.
According to the Secretary General, “Today we have an opportunity to turn on the heat and lights for every household in the world, however poor, even as we turn down the global thermostat. The key is to provide sustainable energy for all.” This is what he calls his “sustainable development agenda”.
This is the key point. It is looking at supply and demand for sustainable energy products and technology on a worldwide scale, not just in the developed countries, or the BRICs, but the planet. If the world leaders would commit to this vision it would immediately change most sustainable energy business models.
Think about that for a minute, and if you doubt his claim then as the Secretary General points out think back 20 years to a world without cell phones. Instead of developing the land-line infrastructure in places without modern communications they leapfrogged the traditional technology cycle and in the process radically changed the world.
Developing sustainable energy for everyone can have the same impact on our lives as the cell phone. A large part of the world economy over the next 20 years and beyond could be based on the move to sustainable energy, while at the same time we could address the issue of greenhouse gases. Literally every country in the world has the ability to be an integral part of Ban Ki-moon’s sustainable energy agenda.
The upcoming UN Rio +20 Conference on Sustainable Development this June in Rio de Janero, Brazil commemorates the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Rio Conference on Environment and Development. This conference offers the world’s leaders a critical opportunity to advance the sustainability agenda and make the necessary commitments to the next 20 years.
As Ban says, “Some argue that in times of economic uncertainty, sustainability is a luxury we cannot afford. I say that we cannot afford to wait. Science and economics reach the same conclusion: advancing economic growth, lifting people out of poverty and protecting our planet are all part of the same agenda: the sustainable development agenda.”
In the end it is all about leadership and political will. Unfortunately, unlike renewable energy these seem to be in short supply these days.
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